Missed Connections
by ScaraMedn
Summary: Nick and Judy have known each other for almost a decade and never been single at the same time. Celebrating their "anniversary" leads to a moment of lightly intoxicated realization and a new start. Two mammals awkwarding at each other, wrapped in fluff. One Shot (and a bit).
1. Chapter 1

They were a mess of missed connections; one taken when the other was single. Eternally. When Nick came back from the academy, Judy was dating a buck. When Judy dumped him for picking up a waitress before a date, Nick was seeing a vixen. He ended it three weeks later because she was too high maintenance, but by then the bunny was seeing another rabbit, a female this time. Six months later he was single, but she went home to visit her family and came back sans doe and avec buck. He never asked what happened. It didn't seem polite, but a month later, when she broke up with him, Nick was with another vixen.

On and on it went. They both had awful luck. It probably didn't help their relationship issues that every time they went through a break up, the other one was who they turned to. When Nick's fiancée walked out on him, Judy was there for him. When Judy got divorced, Nick was there just like he was on her wedding day, soothing jitters. None of their relationships lasted long. Judy's marriage being the longest at 2 years and a bit.

It became a game for them. Tallying who had what go wrong, comparing notes, trading stories like collectors' cards. Whoever was dating at the time pretended to take notes while the other presented their most newly acquired "wisdom" over drinks and dinner. It was decided that whoever was the most recently heartbroken was the more experienced and therefore had the right to instruct the other.

It was at what they jokingly called their anniversary, their ninth from the day they met to be exact, when the game stopped being fun. The evening had started the way they always did. She showed up with whatever take-out was easy to get to and good for soothing hurts. He opened a bottle of whatever they chose as the poison for the night; in this case, some schnapps Finnick sent him from the continent. TRhe two partners and friends settled in to wallow in their misfortunes and relax with steaming, spicy noodles and full shot glasses. Oddly, neither of them was feeling it that night.

The shots went down and so did the mood. They barely spoke after the jokes at the door to his apartment. Work was work. Never enough free time. He was in a dry spell. She was stuck with a buck too nice to ditch, but too dull to stay with. Sadly, there was nothing new to joke about and their many failures of the romantic variety didn't weigh so lightly on them as usual.

Judy was the first to break the silence. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"They're worth millions of pennies, I'll have you know."

"But I'm the only one buying and I'll pay a penny. Take it or leave it."

"Friends and family rate." Nick sighed. "Twent- four "relationships" in nine years, carrots."

"Huh?"

"Since I've met you, I've had twenty-four unsuccessful relationships."

"Oh, come on. You can't count one night stands as relationships.", Judy quipped around her glass before it emptied into her mouth.

"You know what's depressing? I'm not." Nick downed another shot. "And isn't it strange that so many of those happened on your birthdays?"

"Or yours." Judy shot back as she refilled their glasses.

"Were those your doing, Fluff?"

Judy grinned wolfishly. "A few were. What? I was trying to do you a solid. Most days you looked like you needed a little fun."

"You succeeded. Except for Annette. That was no favor." Nick commented, referring to a one-night-turned-doomed-commitment.

"She left before you paid for the wedding!"

"She kept the ring."

"Ouch... yeah. I forgot about that one." Judy winced and raised her glass in acknowledgment. "You win. "

"Sometimes. So how many for you?"

"Other than Charlie?"

"And whatever happened with Yuki and Bill at the farm.", Nick grinned.

Judy winced. "Thanks for the reminder."

"Any time, Carrots. Well?"

"You win. Single-use relationships not included, I'm at 22, but I was married."

"You still hold the record between us for longest duration and degree of commitment." Nick took another shot.

"Thank you!" Judy chirped before emptying her glass, again. "Now, what made you think about our records, tonight?"

"A supreme sense of irony, I think." In answer to Judy's confused look, Nick continued. "We're celebrating our ninth anniversary, Carrots. It got me thinking. The most successful relationship I've had in the last decade has been with you."

Judy considered that statement before responding. "I find that comforting, I think..."

"You think?"

"Comforting or depressing, Wilde. Take your pick."

Nick caroled, "Comforting for table three!", she he sloshed a bit of his glass onto the tabletop.

"Good boy. And that's alcohol abuse! Take another shot!"

Nick complied and shot back, "Oh, like you'd know how good I am."

"Don't I?"

"Second hand, at best, Fluff.", the fox retorted with a wink.

"You've got first hand covered." Both of them laughed. "Remember, nick, you've dated a few of my friends. You think we don't talk?"

"Not about how I am in bed."

"Whoopsie for you."

"Apparently."

Judy put down herr glass and stared across the table at her partner. "Now that we've had the obligatory masturbation joke, what brought this on?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I've dated a lot and it's never worked out, but I've never been too broken up about it. Even when Annette left."

"Yeah... you were pretty chill about that. You were angry she kept the ring for about two weeks, but that was it." Judy considered for a minute before something occurred to her. "I guess it's the same for me. When Charlie left it was more a relief than anything."

"So, what's the connection?", Nick mused aloud.

"Us?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, who have we ever turned to for support?" Judy posited. "We know each other better than anyone. Hell, I was married to Charlie for two years and he couldn't even remember my favorite food."

"Carrot & bell pepper stir fry with mirin and low sodium soy sauce."

"See?"

"Call me crazy, Carrots...", Nick began.

"I do frequently.", she snarked.

"Thanks. So, call me crazy, but have you ever thought that's the problem?"

"How is mutual support a problem?"

"Not the support, dumb bunny. The effects of it. What if we can't really take relationships seriously because we already have someone who... fills that void?"

Judy finished her shot and refilled both glasses to buy herself a moment to think. "I'll skip on the usual sex joke here, because you're sounding crazier than usual."

"Gee, thanks...", Nick groused and shot his drink.

"You're in good company tonight, though.", Judy chimed and followed suit.

"Hm?", Nick prompted.

"You're talking crazier than usual because that actually makes sense. Does that make sense?"

"I'll work on that when I've got a month or two to spare. What are you saying, Carrots? We're half a bottle in. Drop the subtlety."

"I'm saying you might be on to something. You and I are what each other needs. All corniness aside, we care about each other, we're there for each other... I've always known you'd be there when things went bad, complete with take out, booze and bad movies."

"You know you love me."

"Shut up, smart ass. I'm being serious."

"So am I, Carrots." Nick shot his glass again and gathere himself as much as his tipsy self could manage. "OK. If this goes badly I'll blame it on the alcohol and we'll forget it after some ribbing, agreed? It'll be a drunken story we can laugh about in years to come."

Judy nodded. "Ok...? What?"

"Have you ever considered dating me?"

"You _are_ drunk!"

"So are you."

Judy scrambled. She needed a second to think. "Ok. I'll answer, but can you give me a little more to work with?"

"It's pretty simple, silly rabbit. Just think about it." Nick leaned back and counted off on his fingers as he spoke. "Aside from what we've already said, we work together every day, we spend what little free time we have together even if we have a lover, we vacation together, I have a room at your family farm. An actual room. Not a guest room. You have coffee with my mother every week. Carrots, the guys at the precinct joke about us being a married couple. Hells, tonight is our "anniversary"!"

"That was a joke _because_ of our coworkers!"

"And I don't think they were joking." Nick let Judy have a moment to absorb that statement. "Even if they were, and they probably were, is it such a strange assumption? Look at the evidence."

"I can see it. Oh, wow... did we just never catch it?"

"I think we did, but blew it off, or deflected. Easier not to think about it, you know?"

"Yeah. Ok, so, Uh... what now?"

"What do you mean, Carrot Cake? You owe me an answer."

"Oh, right." She considered taking another shot, but opted to pass. She was tingly already and it looked like this wasn't the time for it, anymore.

Sensing her line of thought, Nick got up and poured two glasses of water. "Don't worry about offending me. Just yes or no will do. I won't ask any further if you don't want."

"Honestly, I don't know."

"Do you have an issue with the whole fox/rabbit thing?"

"No. I thought I would, but no."

"Yeah. Living in the city'll do that to you.", Nick joked before taking a long pull of water.

"Not what I meant, smart ass." Judy grumbled as she had some water, herself. "I mean... I wouldn't date a fox. I don't find them attractive. But you aren't a fox. You're Nick."

Watching Judy fumble with her pocket, Nick couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

In response, she held up a finger and finally unearthed her phone. A few taps later, it was ringing and then Nick sat, lost, as Judy spoke. "Hi, tom? Yeah. It's me. Listen, I hate to do this, but it isn't working. Yeah. You're great, but I'm just not feeling it. Yeah me too. Alright. Yes, still friends. I'll see you at the shop. Take care. Bye!" Turning back to Nick, she chirped "Done!"

Nick was incredulous of what just happened. "Wha...?"

Judy put her phone down and smiled. "So, Mr. Wilde. Care to give it a try?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Nick, tom and I just broke up. Neither of us was feeling it. Now, I'm single and so are you. Do you want give it a try?" Judy enunciated the last sentence vey clearly to make sure it cut through the schnapps and made it to the fox's brain.

"You sure about this, Carrots?"

"I said I don't find foxes attractive, but you aren't a fox. You're Nick." Suddenly, she was very grateful for the liquid courage she'd had. "You, I find attractive." She let that hang in the air for a moment. "The more I think about it, the more I think this is overdue. Come on. Treat a lady to dinner."

Judy hopped up and grabbed his wallet and keys, before dragging him out of his chair. They were out the door and on the sidewalk before Nick had a chance to say anything.

"We just had dinner, tipsy bun. Ice cream, instead?"

"Ooh! I could definitely go for that!"

"It might cool off your ears."

"Gimme a break, fox. Alcohol and embarrassment will do that to a bun."

As they walked down the street, Nick commented. "It's not so different than normal, is it?"

"Nope! The difference is that you might get a kiss goodnight, instead of a punch to the shoulder."

"Ooh! Things to look forward to!"

Judy threaded her arm through his and smiled up at him, saying, "I suspect we have a lot of those."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:

One of you decided to give me a severe attack of the feels. I'm not naming names (GhostWolf88), but because of them I've had this stuck in my head since I posted the original. You'll be pleased to know, I got all misty-eyed writing this. My dignity may never recover. Anywho... Enjoy the ride and please review if you are so inclined. Please, keep an eye out for the next one-shot from me and, above all else, keep reading, writing and enjoying!

* * *

It was that day: The Day. The day that had repeatedly meant so much to them. How one day could come to mean so much was beyond her, but she wasn't about to get caught up in the details. Fourteen years ago, they'd met under the most absurd of circumstances. Nine years as friends, eight as partners, passed in the blink of an eye.

Then, it wasn't friends.

On this day five years ago, they went for ice cream as more than friends and it had snowballed. Four years ago, he'd proposed. Three, was the wedding. Two was when the honeymoon finally ended with their first fight. It was over the most idiotic thing imaginable. In truth, she couldn't even remember what it was. It didn't matter either. That was the day they stopped questioning if it was a dream. Reality sank in, but in the best of ways. That was when the joy really came home to roost.

Even last year, this day was special. It was Nick's first steps without assistance since the accident. Now, Nick was back at work with her and they had their fourteenth, fifth, and fourth anniversaries to celebrate, as well as Recovery Day.

She couldn't help but consider herself lucky.

Her husband wasn't perfection incarnate, but he was perfect for her. She was endlessly grateful they'd been friends for so long before anything else. If she was honest, they still were friends first. The rest just built on that foundation. Trust and support, caring and commiseration, honesty and respect; the basis of any friendship and the cornerstone of their lives together. Even at the worst, they each knew the other would be there for them. She was lucky; so lucky to have married the one mammal she trusted more than anyone.

A giggle escaped her as she waited. She'd gotten out of work an hour ahead of him and raced home to prepare. Candle light, their favorite takeout, a bottle of schnapps for nostalgia's sake; all it needed to be complete was him.

She heard his paws on the concrete walkway to their house, before anything else. A jangle of keys, the door creaking open. She heard his chuckle as he padded down the hall.

"Hey, Carrots."

"Hey, Slick."

"Looks like you beat me to it."

"I tend to."

His eyes rolled over her, taking her in. "So, what's on your mind, Honey Bunny?"

Normally she'd quip back and they'd play, but tonight was special. "I heard from the doctor this afternoon."

"And?" His voice was a whisper, hope in every sound.

All she could do was grin and nod. He scooped her off her feet into a hug laced with tears and laughter.

"Time to start picking names, Nick. We've got three to decide on."

"Tomorrow, Judy. Tonight is for us."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:

I couldn't help myself. I had to. I thoroughly blame this third, and final, chapter of this story on tequila and sappy music. Once the idea was in my head, I couldn't get rid of it. Now, it's out and ready to be shared. I'd apologize in advance, but I'm not sorry for this chapter at all. Enjoy!

* * *

Judy didn't like hospitals, but she'd gotten used to them. That tended to happen once you hit octogenarian status after almost forty years in law enforcement. Eighty-three years was a hell of a run for a rabbit, but she'd never been close to typically anything. She'd done everything her own way. True, she had a meteoric career, was the first rabbit Commissioner of Police and even sat on the City Council, but all one had to do for it to be glaringly obvious was look at her family. Being a rabbit married to a fox for thirty-four years was just a taste of the uniqueness that was the life she'd lived.

It was an excruciatingly slow start for her and her husband, by all accounts. They'd only met when she was 24 and didn't even start dating for nine years. It wasn't until five years later, when she was thirty-eight that she'd had her first litter. Three kits, among the first hybrids born between predator and prey, were theirs to raise. That number quickly grew as they had two more litters in the following three years. Sadly, that was where modern medicine failed her. After her third litter, medical complications led to an emergency hysterectomy. She'd never bear any more litters. Of course, that didn't stop her from growing her family.

In addition to the seven kits she bore naturally, she and her husband adopted three more, all hybrid children who had been given up by their birth parents. Now, sitting in her favorite chair after a long day of tests and consultations, she grinned as she looked over the mass of family pictures that littered the walls of her living room. One stood out in particular. It held a place of honor over the mantle; the last family portrait they had taken before the oldest of her kits went off to college.

The cookout had been impromptu, but it'd served the purpose of gathering her unruly mass of children together in one place long enough to sneak a picture in. She sat in the center wearing her favorite beat-up jeans and a ZPD t-shirt with her mate leaning cockily against her chair, smirking. He looked good for sixty-five; still lean and wiry, with laughter lines tracing under his greying fur. He wore the terrible shirt she'd grown to love and the tie she'd got him as a gag-gift for their anniversary. She knew she needed to get it for him as soon as she saw the naked vixen on it. She also knew that he loved it and their kits mocked him endlessly for wearing it.

Her kits were gathered haphazardly around her chair, all grinning and in various states of almost-misbehaving. Seven were fox-rabbit kits, who were an adorable hodgepodge of her and her husband's traits. Liam and Nicole looked cheeky as ever with their arms around each other's shoulders, while Angela looked at them with grudging amusement all over her face. They'd all just gotten their university acceptance letters and were celebrating. Gerry and Tom had managed to sit still long enough for the picture to be taken, but it was clear they were as uncomfortable sitting still as they were wearing button up shirts. They were the most like her in terms of energy and it had driven her insane, some days. Moira and John were sitting so primly on either side of her it was comical. The real punchline was the fact that both of them had the most serious of expressions on, but their tongues hanging out.

Erin, who sat at the back and towered over all of them, was nervously holding her paws and trying not to laugh at her siblings' antics, but that was hard to pull off when you're the largest member of the family by several orders of magnitude. Her smile was almost as large as his youngest sibling's body at age twelve and she'd only gotten bigger. Most of her friends and family had thought Judy was crazy to adopt a newborn liger after she'd turned forty-five, but it'd been worth it. As had the adoption two years later of the lynx-coyote twins. Lillian and Tammy were almost eleven years old in the picture and the incarnation of rambunctious young ladies.

The rest of the pictures were a huge spread of photos from weddings, births, graduations and achievements: the photos commemorating Liam's and Tammy's graduations from the ZPA stood proudly next to the news article on Erin's latest novel; Angela's Doctorate graduation, Gerry and Tom opening their mechanic's shop, Lilian going off to her Pandani tour as a translator, John's first live comedy show, Moira's first day as a teacher and Angela's first patent.

Judy sat, sipped her water and took it all in. It'd been a hell of a ride.

She'd been an officer for over twenty years and a public servant for another decade after her retirement. Her kits were grown. She was a great grandmother several times over. Her family was as diverse as they could come and she loved them all. She just with Nick was still there to reminisce with. She missed his terrible jokes.

Eight years ago, the cumulative effect of eighty years of life finally caught up with him. A bad winter and an age-weakened immune system led to Nicolas Wilde, former hustler, officer and Commissioner of Police, to his grave. The funeral had been humongous. The bloody fox really did know everyone. Everyone from city notables to mammals she wanted to arrest on sight had shown up to pay their respects. It was a little inspiring to her that even in death her husband managed to surprise her.

Since then, her family and friends had rallied around her, almost as if they were afraid to lose another pillar of the city. Judy shook her head. She knew they'd be fine. That didn't stop her from getting misty-eyed at how much she was loved.

Judy slowly meandered her way through eating and cleaning up after her meal, before making her way to bed. She was tired. Hospitals did that to her, as did her condition. The tests all said the same thing. She had a couple months at best, but no one knew for sure. It wasn't a shock to her. She was old and this happened to everyone, eventually.

As she settled in, she smiled at the picture on her bedside table. It was a printed picture of herself and Nick when they were young and too stupid to put two and two together. They were both in their blues after another long shift on patrol. She was looking up at him in amused annoyance while he rested his elbow on her head and winked at the camera. Such a small thing, but it was so very them.

"Good night, Slick," she whispered before she closed her eyes and drifted into dreams.

Some hours later, in the quiet of the night, Judy's breathing slowed, then stopped.

Judy found herself alone. She wasn't anywhere she knew, but wasn't particularly concerned. She felt better than she had in ages. There weren't any aches, or twinges in her joints. Breathing was easy. The weight of years was gone. Looking down, she was thrilled to see she was wearing her favorite plaid shirt and those jeans she loved. It'd been decades since she'd worn them, let alone filled them out so well. She could get used to this. She felt like she was twenty-five again!

She was just about to head off and explore when she heard a voice she was sure she'd never hear again.

"Hey, Carrots."

Judy spun on her heels and stopped dead. There he was in all his hideously-dressed glory. He looked exactly as he had when they met, right down to the cheeky smile and bedroom eyes. He was beautiful. Judy flung herself into his chest and clung on for dear life.

Fighting down tears, she mumbled, "Please tell me this isn't a dream," into his chest.

"Not a dream, exactly." He chortled.

Judy pulled back enough to look him in the eyes as she mulled over his words. Then, it clicked. A flood of emotions rolled through her.

"It's ok, Carrots."

"I guess it is." She huffed a small laugh. "It's not like I can go back."

"Nope! Trust me. I tried."

"It hasn't even been a minute and I don't know whether to punch you, or kiss you."

"Business as usual, then," He replied with a wink. She punched him.

"So, um… What now?"

"Well, now that you've finally shown up, on we go!"

"Now that I… hang on. You've been waiting?"

"I wasn't about leave you behind."

Judy pulled her fox down and kissed him through her tears. "Dumb fox."

"Like you'd have it any other way." She couldn't help but giggle. "So, what do you say, sweetheart? Ready for the next adventure?"

The little grey bunny gripped the fox's paw and grinned, "Now, I am."


End file.
